Kathryn’s Voyage Blog

Publish Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Location: New York City
Coordinates: 40° 47.161′ N 73° 59.185′ W

Discovery is my favorite part about traveling. The obvious, and of course very fun part of traveling is discovery about your new location, it’s history, culture, people etc.. However equally important are discoveries about yourself and fellow travelers.

I loved watching Ayla discover New York on this trip. Dave worked in Manhattan for several years after graduate school, and I traveled to the city numerous times on business. Ayla and I were here last fall for a couple of days, but her overall reaction was not a positive one (big, crowded, noisy, impersonal and ominous). Needless to say, she was not really looking forward to going back.

This trip was different. Although the weather was less than cooperative, we had time. Time to walk through

Central Park. Time to explore various neighborhoods, and people watch from little sidewalk cafes.Time to enjoy the few touring sights we selected, without flying through them or feeling as if we needed to see everything. Time to connect with family and old friends, while making some new friends. “Time” made room for discovery.

Ayla’s current passion for Greek mythology came to life at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was entranced by dress coins that could have been on Helen of Troy’s gown; trade seals used by craftsmen to mark their work; serving pieces from Agamemnon’s place; and the sculpture of Perseus with the head of Medusa. I was surprised by her depth of knowledge in this area; but even more, I was delighted by her genuine excitement at her discoveries.

While visiting MOMA a whole new passion emerged for Ayla…architecture. While cruising through the museum she was completely captured by an exhibit on 20th century architecture and landscape. The scale model of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater was her favorite – she couldn’t stop talking about it. Dave bought her a book with photo’s of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, and it is already filled with sticky notes highlighting all her favorite pieces.

During our visit we also enjoyed seeing Wicked, a wonderful Broadway musical about what was happening

inOZ before Dorothy dropped in. This production led to a great conversation about creative writing and seeing two sides to every story. We also visited the JP Morgan Library and Museum of Natural History; rode the subway or walked everywhere; ate bagels and great Italian food; made signs and went to the Today show; and marveled at the energy of the city.

My mom and step-dad surprised us with a visit to New York, to check-in on the Three@Sea crew in person. My cousin showed us around a number of New York neighborhoods via culinary delights. Ayla learned the art of sword fighting from her nephews. We shared a chilly, damp evening with friends from Dave’s work. And, we had the chance to meet completely new friends, who have been following our journey through our website. They treated us to a lovely dinner in Manhattan where we all had lots of boating stories to share.

We discovered that although NYC is a great place to visit, it is not really a “cruising ground” for boaters. Most locals keep their boats in Long Island Sound or marinas in New Jersey away from New York Harbor. The first few nights we stayed on a mooring ball at the 79th Street Boat Basin, which is a great location and a great deal at $30 a night. However, between the incredibly swift current, the “roll” caused by the extensive boat traffic, and poor weather, we all felt these were the most dangerous waters we had been in with our dingy. With increasing winds and constant rain predicted, we decided to move over to the Newport Marina in New Jersey. This marina provided great access to a PATH station for visiting Manhattan, but was really rolly during the day due to the commuter ferries. In fact, we deployed our flopper stopper in the marina…now that’s a first.

After a busy week, we have left New York Harbor and are heading north up the Hudson (see David’s blog on

our false start). We are looking forward to smoother waters, rural scenery, and a slower pace than the big city. Having said that, New York City was still AWESOME! Ayla has discovered for herself the magic of New York and what it has to offer (however, she says she is still a small town girl at heart).